This invention relates to a product package and, more particularly, to a combination point-of-purchase product package and disposable point-of-use cooler.
Manufacturers and retailers use various types of point-of-purchase packages to store and hold their goods and products at the point-of-purchase such as, for example, supermarkets or the like. An example of one such package is the carton which manufacturers use to package and store cans or bottles of liquid refreshments or the plastic rings which canners use to wrap and hold together cans of liquid refreshments.
A disadvantage associated with these types of packages, however, is that, where the liquid refreshment contained in such cans or bottles is to be cooled prior to consumption, the cans and/or bottles must first be removed from the point-of-purchase package and placed into a refrigerator or a separate disposable cooler filled with ice or other appropriate cooling medium.
The present invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing a package which can be used both to store the bottles and/or cans at the point-of-purchase and also for cooling the bottles and/or cans at the point of use.
A combination point-of-purchase package and point-of-use disposable cooler for beverage containers, such as bottles or the like, includes a container, such as a box, made of a disposable material, such as corrugated paper, and a liquid impervious liner in the interior of the container. The liner envelops the beverage containers at the point-of-purchase and is adapted to receive ice or the like cooling medium for cooling the contents, of the beverage containers prior to use.
In one embodiment, a removable spacer is located in the interior of the container and creates a gap or space in the container between the beverage containers and into which ice or a similar cooling medium, e.g., a refreezable ice pack, can be introduced. The spacer can be disposed centrally in the interior of the container between the front and back walls thereof. Alternatively, two or more spacers are located in the interior of the container along and in abutting relationship with the front and back walls of the container respectively. The spacers, when removed, create gaps or volumes adapted to receive ice or the like coolant. The volume adapted to receive coolant is at least 10 percent of the total interior volume of the cooler, preferably about 13 to about 20 percent of the total interior volume of the cooler.